Quote:
Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll
Genuinely curious to see the statistics on what percent or number of legally acquired firearms eventually end up being used in the commission of a crime by the lawful owner.
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The NRA makes sure that information never gets out, because that would mean "responsible, legal gun owners" hadn't properly stored and kept track of their firearms in some cases, and clearly they're the victims here, in any kind of discussion about gun control.
And even beyond the number of legally purchased firearms being used in a crime, by either the lawful owner or someone who stole it, what about all of the legally purchased firearms that result in accidental deaths? How many kids have shot themselves or their sibling/friend because Mommy or Daddy decided to not keep their guns locked up and unloaded?
Regardless of legality, their are some really, really dumb people clinging to their Second Amendment rights and a lot of innocent people get hurt or killed because they're not smart enough to properly care for firearms.
You're never going to end all gun deaths. It's not possible, there's always going to be a nutjob somewhere who manages to access a weapon and kill people. It's tragic, but it will happen. But there is a lot that we could do as a country to limit that. We can't stop people from doing heroine or crack, but we sure as hell refuse to stop the "War on Drugs." We can't stop all automobile related deaths, but we still have traffic laws, DUI laws, etc.
It's just not that hard to implement basic gun control measures.
-Background checks
-Mental health evaluations
-Drug tests
-Required education on how to clean/fire/store/etc the firearm upon purchase
-Make owners register their firearms annually (just like a car)
-7 day waiting period (during which the seller can conduct background check/drug test/mental health eval, and the purchaser can get his educational credentials)
And for god's sake, if we're going to lock guys up for years and years for smoking pot, why can't we put equally (or preferably, far more) harsh sentences on firearm related crime?
You can't end gun crime, even with an outright ban, but how many lives could be saved with simple gun control legislation?